Sooo --- Tell me how you guys Aquascape

[kelldog4]

Yeah - I am about to purchase 50+ pounds of live rock from my lfs. Tell me how you guys stack it. I have heard of people using PVC frames, zip ties and marine epoxy and then I have heard others who just stack it loose and lean it against the glass. I want something that looks sharp, not just a pile of rocks or a brick wall looking setup.
Thanks,

 

[kelldog4]

 

[alti]

i would be careful about adding that much live rock to a tank with livestock in it already. you could have a really big ammonia spike and throw your tank back into the cycle. you may want to keep it in a seperate tank or container and just add a few pounds at a time over the course of a week or two.
as for arranging the rock, i would not glue or tie anything because you will probably rearrange it a number of times before you get it right and then again to make room for corals. pvc frames i think are a great idea. ive never used it, but alot less junk collects in the rockwork if the base is hollow. i try to keep the majority of the rock off the substrate and have a return line that creates a pretty good flow under my live rock. very little crap gets stuck under there. it also would create a nice cave system for inverts and fish to make their homes.

 

[kelldog4]

Thanks Alti,
the live rock has been cured in tanks at my lfs for about 2 months. It will only be out of water for about 10 - 15 min before I get it home. Do you still see a problem with an amonia spike?
Suggestions from others welcome & wanted!!!

 

[simm]

Originally posted by alti
as for arranging the rock, i would not glue or tie anything because you will probably rearrange it a number of times before you get it right and then again to make room for corals.
I second that as well. Man I rearranged my LR atleast 10 times before I was happy with how it looked.

 

[broomer5]

kelldog4
You really never know what may happen when adding 50 lbs of rock to an existing tank.
Could be fine
Could be a disaster
On the safe side - I've added around 40 lbs or so - but I set up a saltwater container and let it sit in that for a week or so - and monitored the ammonia.
Mine was cured - but it shipped overnight.
There was die off for sure - took a couple weeks to get it in shape for tank.
Saltwater - heater - powerhead - skimmer if you got one.
Possilby a water change - it all depends on amount of dei off ( if any ).
That's the "safe" bet.
I stack it - works for me.

 

[alti]

when i started i added 25 lbs of lr to my 90 gal that had supposedly been at the lfs for about the same length of time. my tank was recently cycled just like yours and it did throw me back into a mini cycle. i didn't have any livestock so it didn't matter. it may not do anything to your tank, but its always better to be safe than sorry.

 

[kelldog4]

Good, I'm glas I posted. For some reason I thought it would be ok to add it all at once since it had been in the tanks at my lfs for so long.
As far as rock stacking goes, can anybody give me more details on how exactly they do it.
I guess I am just concerned that it will tumble and crack my glass.

 

[alti]

stacking live rock is not an exact science. you just have to do the best you can and try to make sure it is stable. live rock is pretty pourous so if you press two rocks together with a little pressure alot of the time they will stick together pretty good.

 

[shmeeb]

that PVC frame idea sounds intresting, does anyone know exactly how that works?

 

[kelldog4]

I ran into the PVC frame idea while doing a search on reef tanks at www.saltaquarium.about.com. I can't find the exact site right now.

 

[dzhuo]

I have heard reefers using the following method:
If your DSB is say 4" high, chop some PVC that's about 4.5", drill some holds so that water can circulate inside and out of the PVC, stick those PVC vertically into the DSB and then stack the LR on top of the PVS. This way, water can circulate in and out of the PVC and under and around the bottom of the LR too. The LR don't even have to touch the DSB and you will have min. contact point between the LR and the DSB and max. water circulation.
Has anyone try this before? It will be great if someone could post some pictures of such a aquascape tank. If you use this method, I have a question. Since all the LR are stack against the PVC, all the pressure points are on the PVC and since the PVC is relatively small in diameter, the weight of the whole rock work will be against those certain PVC contact points where the PVC and the tank bottom meet, will this create any ill effect for the bottom of the tank?
thanks!
david

 

[majakarot]

i bought some large flat lace-rock from my lfs and use it as a top for my cave (it is about 18" long) and stacked more lr on that, it gave me a good solid top and you can only see a tiny bit of it under the lr

 

[speakerfish]

I thougth about this last night, you could build a substructure of PVC piping almost like bleachers and stack the LR on that. Drill out the pipe for circulation and connect a power head to it possibly to add circulation. That would be strong enough to hold the weight of the rock and if your worried about stress in a few spots on the tank's bottom just add more feet. Thinking I'm gonna give this a try in my next tank.